Fourteen km north of İhsaniye in the Phrygian Valley, Döger is a small, rather cheerless place whose single monument of any interest is a caravanserai dating back to the reign of Sultan Murad II (r.1421-44).
That it is an early Ottoman structure rather than a Selçuk one probably accounts for the fact that it lacks the elaborate entrance that was such a feature of earlier inns. Unfortunately the building has been locked on both my visits and although you could try asking the zabita to unlock it for you it’s unlikely that the restored interior will be interesting enough to justify the time it will take to track him down.
Within walking distance of Doğer and signposted on the Frig Yolu (Phrygian Way) is Aslankaya, a magnificent rock into which was carved a shrine to the goddess Kybele – she could supposedly be seen inside the central niche between two lions standing up on their back legs although on my 2013 visit I couldn’t make her out. Two griffins are carved into the triangular pediment above the shrine, while there’s a magnificent lion rampant on the side facing the dirt road (sadly its head has vanished).
Transport info
Minibuses to Doğer leave the köy garaj in Afyon roughly every half-hour (except on Fridays around midday prayers). You can pick them up on Atatürk Bulvarı to avoid trekking out to this remote local bus terminal.
If you will be hiring a taxi to explore this part of the Phrygian Way it’s best to get out of the bus in İhsaniye. The taxi will have to transit Doğer anyway.
